Yovani Gallardo on his first O's win, Chris Davis on season's first homer and more

Right-hander Yovani Gallardo didn't have his best command. But he does have his first Orioles victory.

"It's exciting. Always a good feeling. Had to battle. Had to battle as I got into some deep counts. But we got the victory and that is the most important thing," Gallardo said after pitching the Orioles past Minnesota 4-2 at chilly Camden Yards.

He went five innings, allowing two hits and one run with three walks and four strikeouts on 89 pitches. After a spring with shaky results, he now has a 1.80 ERA. Did this feel like his new home park?

"It did," he said. "Like I said, ever since the lineups were announced, the fans were great. I was excited. I had the opportunity to pitch here last year in the other dugout. This was a good feeling with the excitement in the stands and the fans cheering us on.

"Something about the adrenaline of the season. The games matter, from the first game to the last game. Today I was battling with my command a little bit, but I was able to make pitches when I had to and put some zeros up on the board."

Usually a groundball pitcher, Gallardo got just three groundball outs tonight.

"Just how it worked out," he said. "I struggled a bit after the first with command, being a little more up in the zone than what I wanted to, but the most important thing is getting outs."

He said he was good to stay in the game longer had he been asked to do so.

"Yeah, I felt fine," he said. "But I ran into a little bit of trouble there in the fifth inning. It's a lot colder than we were used to in Florida. Went six days without throwing so, but like I said, we had to get that win. It worked out."

Chris Davis hit the season's first homer, a drive to center off right-hander Kyle Gibson on a 1-2 slider in the third inning.

"I wasn't sure that one was going out to be honest with you," Davis said. "I was kind of expecting (Byron) Buxton to pull up and camp underneath, but glad it did go out.

"It felt really good. I was pleased with opening day and the response of the fans. So many of them stuck around in such tough conditions. You come to expect that of our fans. We have a great fanbase and a lot of people that have stood behind me through thick and thin and I appreciate every bit of it."

Since 2012, Davis leads the majors with 160 homers and tonight was his 799th hit and 550th RBI. This was his 96th homer at Camden Yards, third on the all-time list for this park, which is led by Adam Jones at 106.

Manager Buck Showalter said Davis certainly doesn't seem to be feeling any pressure after signing a $161 million contract and said he, "was the right kind of comfortable" this spring.

What does Davis say on that topic?

"The expectations we have of ourselves every season is so high, the pressure is kind of self-inflicted," he said. "I think every guy in here goes into the offseason with something in mind to get better at and we come to spring prepared. We expect a lot of each other. The biggest thing for me is just embracing the fact that I know I'm going to be here for a number of years, you know, trying to do everything I can to help this team win a championship."

Along those lines, scratching out some runs could be important for the O's offense this year. Through two games, they have walked 11 times and gone 6-for-18 (.333) with runners in scoring position.

"I think it is more a conscious effort to swing at good pitches," Davis said. "We know the damage this lineup can do, but we have to swing at good pitches, so I've been proud of the way the guys have battled."